One Piece live-action instantly became No.1 on Netflix’s Top 10 global list after its release at the end of August. Part of its success goes to the intricate detailing in scenes that have been faithfully adapted from Eiichiro Oda’s manga. The cast also includes experienced actors like Mackenyu, Emily Rudd, and Iñaki Godoy, who wear the characteristic attire of their respective characters.
Portraying One Piece’s world of pirates, surreal technology, and character backgrounds in a live-action required a huge budget. Season 1 possessed a budget much higher than that of Death Note and Cowboy Bebop live-action. After all, it is an eight-episode series, and Oda wanted to present the story as accurately as possible, be it with props like telephonic snails, iconic locations like the ‘Baratie’, or fighting scenes.
Also Read: Eiichiro Oda Originally Wasn’t Satisfied With Some Scenes in ‘One Piece’ Live Action
Netflix’s expenditure for One Piece live-action is more than other famous series’ like Bridgerton, House of Cards, and Orange is the New Black. However, it doesn’t have the costliest budget.
Comparing the per-episode budget of One Piece live-action and Stranger Things Season 4
Belonging to the supernatural/thriller genre, Stranger Things debuted in July 2016. Reports mentioned that the first season cost $6 million per episode while the second season had a per-episode budget of $8 million. It ramped up to $10 million by the third season and now rests at a mammoth $30 million per episode as of the fourth season.
According to Cosmopolitan, one episode of One Piece live-action had a budget of approximately $17.27 million. Given that there were eight episodes in the series, the total budget for the adaptation was $138.16 million. Stranger Things Season 4, meanwhile, consists of nine episodes so its total budget amounts to $270 million.
Netflix spent over $12,000,000 more for every episode of its most expensive series, Stranger Things. Interestingly, Season 4 won’t be the end of the supernatural show. We can only guess the budget for Season 5 following the $20 million jump from the third season to the fourth season.
Also Read: Everything That Is Known About Stranger Things Season 5 So Far
See how One Piece live-action fares with other most expensive shows and films
According to a report by Collider, the live-action version of One Piece has already spent $40 million more on the budget than the animated version in its 20+ years on the air. The per-episode cost of $17.27 million also surpassed the $15 million per episode budget of Netflix’s The Sandman, HBO series Game of Thrones, and Disney+ series The Mandalorian.
Nonetheless, One Piece live-action Season 1 has a lower budget than The Pacific and House of the Dragon, which rest at $20 million per episode, WandaVision at $25 million per episode, and The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power at $58 million per episode. It is also not even close to surpassing the highest-budget anime adaptation, The Tale of Princess Kaguya, and its whopping budget of $53,400,000.
Source: Cosmopolitan | Collider
